Foolish Loyalty
by Sara Jaye
Summary: For FE Contest // He was loyal to the point of stupidity, so why should she care what happened to him? VaidaxHeath


Every day, she woke up and decided it was time they went their separate ways. She hadn't even wanted him to come with her in the first place, he hadn't been of any use to her since the Raiders split up anyway._ Loyal to the end_, she thought ruefully, _hah, more like loyal to the point of **stupidity**!_

"Today is the last day, and this time I mean it!" Vaida spat as she put on the last of her riding armor and tossed a few muskrats to Umbriel. "We don't need him, right, Umbriel?" Then she realized whom she was talking to; to her chagrin Umbriel and Hyperion were the best of friends. _That_ was the reason she couldn't bring herself to leave Heath behind, because of Umbriel. "I could care less about that damned fool, but to see_ you_ unhappy..."

After all, she wasn't _completely_ heartless.

"Commander!" His voice rang out halfway across the camp grounds, and she sighed as he bounded towards her. Energetic as ever...yet, upon second glance, she couldn't help noticing something seemed a bit off about him. His color wasn't what it should be.

Not that it mattered, of course. At today's end she would leave him behind and focus all her energy on the prince.

"Let's go," she said curtly, shoving the rest of her things into her pack and strapping her spear to her shoulder. They took to the air in silence, just as they always did.

*

They flew nonstop over towns and cities and fields; they rarely if ever made stops outside the dire need for sustenance and supplies, or if their mounts were too exhausted to move another inch. The faster we travel, Vaida reasoned, the faster I'll be at the prince's side.

But the further they went the paler Heath seemed to get, and every now and then he'd turn his head to the side in a vain attempt to stifle a cough. He didn't look well at all, and for a split second Vaida was almost concerned.

_Not that it matters_, she reminded herself. _You don't care what happens to him anyway! He was stupid enough to follow you, he'll pay the price!_

Just then, Umbriel gave a piercing cry as something hit his wing, and Vaida grunted in frustration.

"Ugh! Don't tell me you're afraid of a little_ rain,_ you silly beast," she scolded.

"Ah, Commander? I-" Heath coughed into his sleeve. "I believe we're being followed," he said, and sure enough there was a group of brigands just below them. One had just landed a lucky hit with a stone, and they looked thirsty for more. Vaida tossed them a cruel smirk and drew her lance.

"So, you dare to challenge _me_, do you?" she taunted. "Heath! Let's show these flesh-kettles the true might of Bern's Wyvern Knights!"

"Right away, Commander!" Heath drew his sword, and the battle commenced. Despite the bandits' poor speed and reaction times the fight was pretty evenly matched, but there was no way they could lose...then, suddenly, one managed to strike Heath's face with the sharp edge of his axe. Heath shouted in pain, but kept fighting on valiantly. He looked even worse than ever with that blood dripping down his pale, sweaty face.

"Ya give up yet?" the head bandit asked with a cruel chuckle.

"Never!" Heath shot back. "As loyal knights of Bern, we will fight to the-" His boast was cut off by the sharp _smack_ of another axe to his arm, and though it was only a small wound, it seemed to be the last straw for an already exhausted Heath. "Ah...C-Commander, I-"

He lost consciousness, and an unwanted stab of fear went through Vaida's entire body. With an enraged cry, she smashed the leader's head with the blunt end of her lance, and as he fell the rest of the bandits scattered like the cowards she knew they'd been all along.

"Heath!" She dismounted, pulling him from atop Hyperion and glaring at his unconscious form. "You _idiot!_ What the hell's _wrong_ with you, being bested by useless _flesh-kettles._.." She shook him, but to no avail. With an annoyed grunt she began to wipe the blood from his face...and realized his forehead was burning.

He _was_ ill, and he'd still insisted on following her into this. Vaida couldn't imagine feeling any angrier in her entire life than she felt right now, he'd most likely hidden his sickness from her so as not to lose time, but now they were going to anyway. They'd have lost _less_ time if they'd found a town for him to recover in!

"What were you_ thinking,_" she muttered. "If you were to die..."

_You don't care what happens to him._

"I..."

_You don't. He chose to follow you, even if said that if this was how he ended, then so be it._

"I didn't..." Vaida clenched her hands into tight fists as a suppressed thought struggled to break free. He was an idiot, he was useless to her, the prince was the only one who mattered, Heath...

_"I am your loyal soldier, Commander. Wherever you go, I will follow, even to the ends of the Earth."_

Vaida gave a defeated sigh as the thought forced itself free.

"I don't want you to die."

Quickly, she began to remove Heath's armor and then his clothing. There was a cold spring somewhere in these mountains, she just needed to figure out where, and until today they'd never needed the healing potions or herbs...she was no doctor, of course, but even she knew how to cure a fever.

*

Hours later, she sat by his bedroll, occasionally checking his temperature and his pulse. He was still alive, and she knew he would make it through the night. But even with that in mind her stubborn worry was so triumphant over having escaped at last, it wouldn't be silenced until Heath opened his eyes.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait much longer.

"C...Commander...?" he croaked, groaning as he tried to sit up. "W-what happened? Did we win...?"

"Yes, no thanks to you," Vaida snapped. "Fortunately, all it took was killing their leader to send them running."

"That's good, then..." Heath coughed, and Vaida shook her head. Now that she knew he was okay, her worry was quickly replaced by annoyance.

"You were _pathetic_ out there," she chastised him, "for crying out loud, you're a member of Vaida's Raiders, and you lost to _those_ insignificant pea-brains?!"

"Sorry..."

"And all because of your stupid pride," she grumbled. "Really, Heath, if you knew you were ill, why did you even bother coming along?!"

"I didn't want to bother you with my weakness," he said quietly. "I thought it'd go away on its own."

"Well, obviously it didn't, and now we'll lose a whole day's worth of travel just so you can recover," Vaida said.

"I'm sorry, Commander," Heath groaned, "all I wanted was to stay by your side and help you out, but I've just caused you trouble. I don't blame you for being angry at me."

_Where have I heard that one before?_ Vaida thought. Some of the softer, weaker members of the army had said it at least once to their best friends or lovers, obviously, but she never imagined she would hear something like that from Heath of all people.

"I never wanted you here in the first place," she said. "In fact, I was planning to leave you behind once we stopped. This mission...I do not expect to come out of it alive, Heath. I intend to draw my last breath for the sake of Prince Zephiel."

"And I told you..." He coughed, and she shoved a cup of water into his hand. He drank greedily from it and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "And I told you," he repeated, "I am your loyal soldier, Commander. I'll never leave your side, even if it means my own death."

An unpleasant feeling pricked at the back of her eyes, and it took every ounce of self-control Vaida had not to slap him.

"You_ idiot_," she said. "You're just...ugh, why are you so eager to throw your life away when you could find a new path and live the rest of your days in peace?!"

He looked at her, his eyes soft.

"You almost sound like you care about me, Commander," he said, and she pounded her fist into the ground.

"Well, maybe I do!" she yelled, and suddenly she felt the weight lift from her. Was it really so horrible to care about him? She glanced at her reflection in the spring; it was still her. No limp locks of flowy hair or simpering wide eyes. She turned back to Heath, her gaze less angry now. "That's why I didn't want you to come with me. Heath, you're still young-"

"So are you, Commander," he said. "I...I care about you too, so much, and I don't want you to throw _your _life away either."

"But the prince-"

"You can protect him without sacrificing yourself, I'm sure you can," Heath said. "And I'll help you."

"Heath..."

"Commander...no, _Vaida._" He pulled himself up, groaning with the effort, her arm instinctively went around his back to support him. "I believe in the prince as you do, and I know that together we can keep him safe and secure Bern's future."

She wanted to tell him no, it wasn't possible and he was an idiot for thinking so. Idealism got you nowhere in Bern and he would learn the hard way like she had.

But the conviction behind the weak voice speaking those words was so strong that she just _couldn't_, and she sighed, feeling defeated.

"We'll see about that," she said. "At least...your way does deserve a fair chance before things go to hell and we both lose our lives."

"Then at least we'll die together." He didn't even blink. Vaida smiled a little, brushing his hair out of his face...then her gaze became stern once more.

"Well, then, you should get as much rest as possible. We'll stay here the rest of today and all of tomorrow, but you'd better be in perfect health the next day," she said quickly. Heath gave a small nod, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the stack of his spare clothing he used as a pillow. Vaida stole one last glance at him before going off to feed their mounts.

"You're stupider than wyvern feed, a prideful fool whose loyalty will get him killed," she muttered. "But I suppose I am glad to have you by my side."


End file.
